Hajja Salesjana July-September 2021

H AJJA S ALESJANA 16 How do you defeat the giants that are keeping you from being the man/woman God wants you to be? How do you defeat the fears that keep you from being the man/woman God wants you to be? If you want to be a person of great faith with a great dream and a great life work, you do the very things that David did to defeat the giants of delay, discouragement, disapproval and doubt. 1. Remember how God has helped you in the past . David says in 1 Samuel 17:37, “ The LORD who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine !” (NLT) When you remember the ways that God has helped you in the past, it gives you confidence for the future. 2. Use the tools that God has given you now . David used the tools that God provided that utilized his strengths: “ Then Saul gave David his own armor …. ‘I can’t go in these,’ he protested to Saul. ‘I’m not used to them.’ So David took them off again. He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag ” (1 Samuel 17:38- 40a). Don’t wait for something you don’t have — money, education, or connections. Use the tools God has already given you to face your giants with confidence. 3. Ignore the dream busters . Later in life, when others were speaking against him, David had to encourage himself in the Lord: “ David was seriously worried, for in their bitter grief for their children, his men Four Steps to Defeating the Giants by Rick Warren “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty …. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands …. And the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.” 1 Samuel 17:45-46 Photo by Alex Woods www.unsplash.com